Yeah, fair enough. You only get to be a kid once.
Thank you for that.. That actually gives me a lot of insight to the situation- making sure that she's okay, and making sure that she knows if she doesn't succeed on that level, doesn't mean she's less loved or stupid. I absolutely see what you're saying. And my daughter, I can imagine, would feel the same way. It's a tricky situation for me personally because my sister has custody of her right now (long story). And because I don't get to see her as much, I'm more about lifting her up and being okay with her imperfections. I want her to be a little girl and enjoy her time as a kid while she can. Yes, she needs rules and discipline and all of that, but my sister is a lot more strict than I am with her. If that makes sense at all.
I was also of the mature-beyond-my-years breed. It made it difficult to socialise with people my age because I didn't have a lot in common with most of them. The gifted program helped there because it ensured I had regular contact with people who I could relate to. I think the main pressure I felt was internal though. You get used to being told you are right all the time and that you are smart, so then you manage to acquire a sense that if you are ever wrong you're a failure. Everyone was always so pleased with me when I was being clever so in my little head I managed to come to the conclusion all on my own that if I did something that wasn't so clever, people wouldn't be pleased with me anymore. It drove me a little insane.
You'll have to give me tips and stuff! I mean.. I know it didn't go well for you, but yeah. I kind of worry about too much pressure being put on my daughter, but my sister & I have been working with her from Day 1.. She was reading on a kindergarten level by like age 3 or 4- we did letters & letter sounds, then sight words & combo letter sounds (like "sh", "ch", "th", etc). But we never talked in those annoying "Baby voices" with her even when she was a baby. Honestly, she was talking very well by age 2 because of that.. ahahha- I had the most epic video of her singing "Man In The Mirror" by Michael Jackson when she was 2- she sang it perfectly, sitting cross-legged in front of my little stereo I had connected to my iPod, echo mic in hand.. But yeah, I'm pretty confident that she can handle it. She's a very well-adjusted kid and mature beyond her years!
Awesome. Gifted programs can be fantastic if implemented well, but I basically just got loaded with a lot more pressure than a 5-year-old should be putting on themself and I'm pretty sure I'm still scarred. I'm interested to hear how it all goes!
Thank you!! My sister actually works at the school she goes to- she's a literacy coach now, but has been a teacher for around 20 years- she taught 1st grade for 12, ESL for like 5, and switched to literacy coach like 3 yrs ago, and I myself worked in ESL with her (when she taught ESL) for 3 years as an educational assistant. So she has a ton of support and guidance on both of our parts.
I'm super happy for you and your daughter for her reading! Be sure to be careful if she does end up in a gifted program though - I was in one of those and it smurfed me up.
